


As Time Goes By

by stxrburstlouis



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Detective Yoon Jeonghan, Ex Mafia Leader Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, M/M, Past Choi Seungcheol | Scoups/Yoon Jeonghan, Single Parent Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, he has every right to be, mentioned panic attacks, mingyu is annoying i should kill him off huh?, seungcheol is paranoid, seungcheol runs a bar, seungcheol's daughter is technically his niece
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:55:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stxrburstlouis/pseuds/stxrburstlouis
Summary: “Baby, grab your bag, okay we have to go.” He walks towards the other end of the bar holding the door open.“Where are we going?” She asks as she hops down.“No questions, just do as I say! You too Jeonghan, let’s go!”Jeonghan doesn’t need to be told twice, he walks through the door Seungcheol is holding, walking through the long hallway. Seungcheol stops at the keypad on the wall, pushing a few buttons before everything goes black and he hears multiple clicks. Jeonghan knows he just put the entire bar on lockdown.“Let’s go, hold hands.” Seungcheol is in the front leading the way, Haewon in the middle with Jeonghan at the rear. It shocks him that the little girl actually takes his hand.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

“Watch your back.” Seungcheol warns as he carries the crate full of glasses behind Mingyu. The other man presses himself against the bar to make sure he has enough space to get through. 

“Make sure you go through the paperwork by the end of the day.” Mingyu reminds him as he’s walking back to the office. 

Seungcheol isn’t reading anything because he already knows what they want. He may be out of the game but he’s no idiot. He sighs sitting at his desk and looks at his watch. School is almost out and Vernon should be on his way back. He shreds the papers on his desk without even looking at them. He wants nothing to do with his past life even if he still is in the middle of it. 

Choi Seungcheol used to be a mafia leader. The Choi’s are no longer as he is technically the only Choi left. Seungcheol’s father died when he turned sixteen. He and his father had a great relationship but he knew it was going to happen sooner or later. His dad did train him and taught him everything he knows. His father took them on a family vacation every year and Seungcheol always got to choose where they went. His brother and sister never minded because they always had fun wherever they went. Naturally, Seungcheol took over because he felt it was the ring thing to do. He knew his brother wouldn’t be comfortable in that sort of position and his sister was automatically out of the question. His mother never wanted any part of it and now that her husband was gone she wanted out for good. 

He had sent his mother to live in Canada while his brother and sister moved to Georgia. He had stayed in Nebraska simply because he did not want to up and move a whole organization when his father had built everything here. He was the middle child but he was a natural born leader. With age he only became more ruthless but he was also tired of living the life his father had left behind. He loved being powerful, loved being feared even more but someone was always after him. When he turned twenty five, he had received word that some up and coming groups had got to his mother and his brother. He was in the middle of a meeting when Wonwoo had rushed in, pulling him aside. He had cried for the first time in years. His sister was pregnant and no one had seen her. A week had passed before he had finally got in touch with her. She was already back in Nebraska, hiding just to be safe. 

She had sent him the address of her little apartment. By the time, Seungcheol had got to the apartment, someone had got to her first. That was the last straw for him, he simply couldn’t live his life when he knew he was next. His sister had died at the hospital. Her baby survived, at eight months old and Seungcheol couldn’t just let anyone have her. He remembers standing in the hospital room with his three trusted men. 

“I’m leaving.” He had told them as he held his niece. Nobody said a thing but they knew he was serious. 

“Hey, Cheol. I got the new cameras, come show me where you want them.” Wonwoo says, standing in the doorway interrupting his thoughts. 

He gets up, walking out of his office heading out to the main part of the bar. He needs more cameras because he doesn’t trust some of the people that walk into this bar. They all know who he is and they would never try anything but he can never be too sure. He tells Wonwoo he wants them in all corners pointing towards the front door and the back door. One in the inventory room and the hallway leading to the bathroom. 

The bar is technically open but people usually start to trail in after five pm. So he’s surprised when he sees two officers walk into his bar. Mingyu gasps so loud when he sees the third person walk into the bar. Seungcheol stands up straight behind the bar as he watches the man walk into his establishment. 

Yoon Jeonghan. 

Seungcheol could never forget him. They were basically together for two years before he had announced he was leaving the mafia life. He had thought the man was in Europe or at least that is what he heard. He doesn’t know when he came back or he became a cop. 

Jeonghan looks around, walking further ahead of the other two officers. He’s never stepped foot in this bar and he never thought he’d see the man standing behind the bar again. 

“Choi Seungcheol.” 

Seungcheol resists the urge to roll his eyes, crossing his arms instead. 

“That’s me.” he answers. 

Before Jeonghan can get another word in, the front door is opening again and Jeonghan sees a little girl, height at his hip, run past him. 

“Dad!” She exclaims as she climbs up to sit on one of the barstools, knees in it as she leans over the bar. 

“There’s my girl.” He kisses her forehead twice doing the same to both sides of her cheeks before kissing her nose. 

7, Jeonghan counts. 

“Uncle Vernon is a bad driver. Also school was boring, when can we go home?” Seungcheol looks at Vernon shaking his head before looking back at the three officers still standing at the front. 

“In a little bit, can you go to the office for a second? The adults need to talk.” She nods her head, hopping down, walking around the bar and Seungcheol watches her walk through the first door. 

“You’re under-” Jeonghan starts but stops immediately when Seungcheol puts his hand up. He’s still looking at the door and they all hear a second door close and that’s when Seungcheol puts his hand down turning back to look at everyone else. 

“Now you may continue.” 

“You’re under the arrest for the murder of Kim Dahyun.” Jeonghan says, pulling out his handcuffs. 

“Okay.” He replies, calmly walking around the bar. 

“Make sure she knows I’m coming home by tomorrow morning.” He tells his three friends as he walks past them. 

He stands in front of Jeonghan, looking him up and down before he turns around,hands behind his back. 

“Let's get this over with, Angel.” He whispers and Jeonghan makes sure the cuffs are extra tight as he reminds him of his rights. 

The ride to the station is short and Seungcheol thinks they could’ve walked and made it in the same amount of time. Jeonghan parks the car in front of the station and Seungcheol waits for him to get out but he sits for a moment longer before he’s turning around to look at him. 

“Is she yours?” he asks, trying to look the man in the eye. 

Seungcheol leans back in the seat and sighs. “I think they’re waiting for us.” he points his head towards the window at the other two officers standing in front of the building. 

This building must be new because the last time Seungcheol was in her remembers it being more gloomy and the fluorescent lights give it a lively feel. He hasn’t been to jail, no, but he’s been questioned multiple times. He knows his record is basically clean despite everything he’s done in his life. 

“Take him to room four.” Jeonghan says letting go of his arm as they walk past everyone. 

He already knows how this is going to go. He’s sat in a chair in an interrogation room. The cuffs are taken off of him before he’s left alone in the room, door closing loudly behind the officer. He puts his head down on the cold table, getting ready to fall asleep because he knows they won’t be coming to him for a few hours. It’s the same old routine.

  
  


The sound of the door opening, pulls him out of his sleep. He’s never been a heavy sleeper, he couldn’t afford to with the life he lived. He kept his head down until there’s the sound of a file hitting the table. 

He lifts his head up to see Jeonghan sitting in front of him and he lets out a deep sigh. Seungcheol watches as he opens the file, pulling out photos that came from a security camera. 

“Two days ago, this is you walking into the hotel, getting in the elevator, walking up to Kim’s room and leaving, all within 15 mins. Want to explain yourself?” Jeonghan questions as he lays out all the photos for him to see. 

“He wanted to go half on my bar a year ago and I said no. He set up a meeting for that day because he wanted me to fully sell my bar to him and I said no. There were other people in that room besides me. Other people, as in more business people, not just his bodyguards.” 

Seungcheol stretches before continuing, “He wanted my bar because it’s in the middle of town, directly in the middle of town. I wasn’t going to sell it to him just so he could run it into the ground so I left.” 

Jeonghan hums, relieved he didn’t have to pry information out of him. He stares at Seungcheol for a moment, watching as the man looks around the room, eyes landing on the camera in the corner. 

“He was stabbed to death.” Seungcheol eyes move from the camera back to Jeonghan. 

“It wasn’t me.” 

“The fingerprints say otherwise.” 

“I haven’t had the same fingerprints since I was sixteen.” He crosses his arms and puts them on the table. 

“The only thing you have on me is these photos. You have no real evidence. Whoever did stab him is probably a traitor or one of the other businessmen who were in the room. Just because you only have pictures of me doesn’t mean I;m the one who did it.” He says, seriously. 

Jeonghan gets up to leave without another word. He looks back at the camera and smiles. The clock in the room shows it’s almost eight o’clock. He’s been here for six hours and he’s bored. He looks back at the photos that are still on the table, when Jeonghan comes back in the room, another file in his hand. 

“You were here for questioning when you were twelve, something having to do with your father, is that correct?” Seungcheol nods his head. He knows what he’s talking about, doesn’t remember anything other than being questioned. 

“Let me see your hands.” Jeonghan opens the ink pad, hand out, waiting for his. Seungcheol ignores him rolling his fingers on the ink pad himself before placing them on the blank sheet of paper.

Jeonghan snaps his fingers twice and waits ten seconds. Seungcheol can see the red dot from the camera turn off, from the corner of his eye. 

“They don’t match.” 

“I know they don’t.” Jeonghan hums, and looks Seungcheol in the eye. Seungcheol stretches his legs out until his shoe meets Jeonghan’s shoe. 

“I am me, don’t worry. You can take a DNA sample. You need my spit or something? You used to like my spit right, Angel?” He doesn’t hesitate to press his foot into Jeonghan’s crotch. Jeonghan moans low in his throat, gripping his ankle. He knows it’s going to bruise from the man’s grip but he really doesn’t care. 

“Don’t start something you can’t finish. You used to like being bent over tables isn’t that right?” He replies, letting go of him. Seungcheol brings his leg back to his side of the table. 

“Tables, couches, balconies.” He responds easily. 

“Who else was in the room with you?” Jeonghan asks, changing the subject.

“I don’t know.” 

“Who was in the room, Seungcheol?” 

“We could go all day, I have an eight year old. I didn’t know anyone else in the room besides Dahyun.” Jeonghan places everything back in the folder where it needs to be before standing up, heading towards the door. Seungcheol leans back in his seat, watching as Jeonghan leaves the room, red light on the security camera coming back on. 

Ten minutes later an officer goes to get him, cuffing him again as he moves him further into the building. Seungcheol sighs as he sees the cells. All he knows is the three idiots better not trick her into staying home. He steps inside and the officer uncuffs him, closing the cell door behind him. Seungcheol lays down on the makeshift bed, closing his eyes waiting for sleep to come. 

  
  


Jeonghan sighs as he sits down at his desk. He can’t believe this is the first time he’s seen Seungcheol in eight years and he has to be the one to arrest him. He honestly didn’t even believe it was him until he walked into the bar. The only thing in his mind is the fact that Seungcheol has a kid. His heart stopped when she ran into the bar, if Jeonghan was his twenty year old self he probably would’ve cried right then and there. He picks up another file, looking it over trying to get his mind off the older man. 

“Yoon, still not done with that report?” 

“You’ll have it by the end of the day.” He says, not even bothering to look up at the man as he walks past his desk and out the door. 

  
  


Jeonghan spends the rest of his night doing paperwork. He’s so glad his vacation is at the end of the month because after this he definitely needs a break. He so badly wants to get up and question Seungcheol about everything but there’s too many people around and even though nobody knew the two knew each other, one overheard conversation is all they need to spread rumors in the office. 

He had met Seungcheol at a club when he was twenty. He didn’t know the man was a mafia leader at the time he just needed someone to fuck at that moment. He doesn’t remember exactly how it happened but he knew he was basically dating him for two years. The older man had warned Jeonghan there would be a day when shit would hit the fan because his father had made a lot of enemies. He had two with the man before that day came. He didn’t think it would come to Seungcheol leaving for eight whole years. He remembers standing in that mansion with the whole Choi ensemble standing in the living room as Seungcheol stood in front of them. Jeonghan didn’t hear anything after he had told everyone he was quitting this life and leaving everything behind. That night Jeonghan cried so hard he threw up. That was the last time he saw the older man because every trace of him ever being in that mansion was gone by the morning. 

A lot can happen in eight years, Jeonghan realizes. After he graduated he had joined the academy. There was really nothing else to do and Jeonghan was good at it. Or at least that was what his dad had told everyone. Jeonghan had to prove himself if he wanted to be above whatever expectations other people had for him. He knows the other probably thinks he was in Europe because that’s what he had told everyone and word got around fast. He was only states away, training to be the detective his father wanted him to be. 

Jeonghan finishes his report emailing it to his boss before putting the needed files on his desk. He stands in the middle of the hallway, looking in the opposite direction of where he’s supposed to be going. There’s hardly anyone here and he’s moving his feet towards the cells before he knows it. He stands in front of the man’s cell only to find him asleep. It’s almost ten pm and Jeonghan should be on his way home by now.

“Either you’re here to kill me or let me go. So which one is it?” Jeonghan gasps, stepping back as the man sits up. 

“I was just checking on you.” Jeonghan mumbles. He forgot the man will wake up at the slightest sound. 

“I’m fine, Jeonghan.” He states laying back down. 

“What happened to calling me ‘Angel’?” 

“Not in the mood. Goodbye, Jeonghan.” He scoffs and walks back to where he was supposed to be going. He grabs his jacket from his desk, turning off his lamp, before leaving the building until the morning time. 

  
  
  


“Choi Seungcheol, you’re free to go.” His eyes open at the sound of the officer's voice, stretching as he goes to stand. He walks out of the cell, waiting for the man to walk in front of him. He walks through the building, head held high, as he walks towards the front doors. He didn’t have anything on him at the time of pickup so he doesn’t need anything else. 

“You look like shit.” Wonwoo says as he steps outside. 

“Is she in school?” The car door opens and it’s just enough proof to show she isn’t in school. Seungcheol gets in the car, shaking his head at the other three men. 

Jeonghan watches the scene. Seungcheol walked right past his desk, not even sparing him a glance. He watches as the cherry red Hummer pulls up just as he steps outside. One man hops out, second tallest man from the bar, Jeonghan remembers. The back door is opening and he sees Seungcheol get in as they drive off. 

“I told them I didn’t have school today.” Haewon states proudly as Seungcheol closes the door behind him. He grabs her face in his hands, kissing her forehead twice, doing the same to both her cheeks before kissing her nose. 

“You’re all idiots. The school schedule is right on the fridge.” Vernon drives around a few blocks just to make sure they aren’t being followed, before heading home. 

“Did you at least finish your homework from yesterday?” he questions looking down at her. 

“Yes, dad. You can even check.” She throws the backpack in his lap and Seungcheol goes through it just to be safe. 

  
  
  


It isn’t until later that night when Haewon goes to sleep that they all meet up by the basement stairs to discuss what happens. They follow Seungcheol into the basement until they come in front of the bookcase. He pulls on the blue leather book until the door opens. They step into the room, waiting for Vernon to close the doors. Seungcheol sets the baby monitor on the table before he speaks. 

“Someone in that room killed Dahyun and those fuckers think I did it.” 

“Who else was in the room besides you and him?” Wonwoo asks. 

Seungcheol sighs, “The Yang’s and Hwang’s were present. I don’t know what happened after I left. Someone must’ve looped the security footage to make it look like I was the only coming out of the room the whole day.” 

“I can look-” 

“No, none of you are getting involved in this and that is the only thing I will say about it. Whatever business they had with Kim, they already handled it and we aren’t getting involved. Am I clear?” He replies looking at the other three men standing in front of him. 

The only sound in the room is coming from Haewon’s fan through the baby monitor. They all nod and Seungcheol sighs. 

“Are we going to talk about Jeonghan while we’re standing here?” Mingyu says, leaning against the wall. 

“I think we were all surprised by that one.” Vernon voices out. 

“When did he come back?” Seungcheol says looking at Wonwoo. 

“He never went to Europe. He’s been in New York or Texas, at least that’s what I heard. He only came back this year though, he’s a new detective.” Wonwoo states, relaying all the information he heard from the bar. People always talk when they get a couple of drinks in them. 

Seungcheol stares at the ground but he can feel their eyes on him. “One at a time say what you need to say.” He knows they all have something to say, they always do. 

“Did he try anything?” 

“He asked about Haewon, didn’t he?” 

“Did you guys fuck?” 

Seungcheol rolls his eyes at Mingyu because of course he would want to know that. 

“The usual bluffs that didn’t work when I told him about my fingerprints. Yes, he asked about her and no  _ that _ didn’t happen.” He grabs the baby monitor heading towards the exit that leads to his room. 

“Any other questions? No, good. Goodnight everybody.” He pushes the button on the side of the wall, stepping behind the wall, walking up the stairs to his room. 

Mingyu waits until he’s back upstairs before saying anything. “We have got to prepare for this shit show.” 

  
  
  


Almost two weeks go by before anything happens again. It’s a Saturday, early in the morning but they’re all at the bar, including Haewon. Seungcheol leans over the bar helping her with her homework as he washes cups and shot glasses out. 

“Baby, that’s not how you divide.” 

“Can’t you just do it for me?” She whines out. 

“Just this one and then you do the rest by yourself.” He dries his hands off, grabbing the pencil facing the paper towards him. Seungcheol does the whole middle line for her before handing it back to her. She giggles and gets back to work. 

It’s too early to be serving drinks but the door opens anyways and Seungcheol watches as Jeonghan walks into the bar. Haewon must feel his presence because she turns around watching him walk up to the bar. 

Jeonghan looks at her as she stares at him. “Adult talk?” She asks. 

Jeonghan nods his head. “I want that whole page finished by the time our conversation is over!” He yells after as he packs up, running into the back office. 

“What do you want?” He says, voice sounding bored as he goes back to the dishes. 

“We caught the guy who actually killed Kim Dahyun. His name is Hwang Hyunjin.” Seungcheol hums waiting for him to continue. 

“I don’t know how they got your fingerprints but they were definitely there on the scene.”

“I was kidnapped a lot as a child.” Seungcheol says, like it’s no big deal. 

“They also-“

“Let me guess you found out they looped the security footage until the next day where you only see the maid coming in finding the body.” Seungcheol states, putting dishes away into the crate. 

“I would ask how you know that but I think that would be a dumb question considering who you are.” Jeonghan comments. 

“Daddy, your phone is ringing.” Haewon says walking back through the door, Seungcheol stops her as she tries to walk behind the bar and he points back to the barstool next to Jeonghan. 

He takes the phone from her, answering it. 

“Yes, Wonwoo.” Jeonghan tries to listen into the conversation but his volume is too low. He watches as Seungcheol’s entire body freezes up at whatever the other is saying. 

“Hold on, Wonwoo.” He removes the phone to his ear, looking at Jeonghan. 

“Can you watch her for a minute?” Jeonghan automatically nods and Seungcheol is walking back through the doors. 

“Can you help me with my homework?” He turns to the girl, who’s staring at him. She doesn’t look like Seungcheol that much, but they have the same eyes. 

“Let me take a look. Oh, long division?” 

“It’s so hard.” He chuckles at that. 

“Do you have a multiplication table?” He watches as she pulls a folder out of her bag, taking out a sheet of paper. 

“Now, look for seven at the top and move your finger down until you see fifty six and then you move it to your left until you get the answer.” Haewon sighs before doing what he said. 

“It’s eight.”

“Put eight at the top and now you know seven times eight is fifty six so you put that under the other fifty six and when you subtract you get zero.” He speaks slowly so she can do it on her own. She does the work for the rest of the page doing what Jeonghan told her and she’s finished in the next five minutes. 

She puts her pencil down, stacking her papers before she puts them back in the right folder. “Thank you…” 

“Jeonghan. Yoon Jeonghan.” 

“Thank you, Jeonghan. I would give you my name but daddy told me not to give it to strangers.” 

“He taught you well.” Seungcheol comes bursting back through the doors and he looks like he’s two seconds away from fainting. He has a coat and a duffel bag in his hands. 

“Baby, grab your bag, okay we have to go.” He walks towards the other end of the bar holding the door open. 

“Where are we going?” She asks as she hops down. 

“No questions, just do as I say! You too Jeonghan, let’s go!” 

Jeonghan doesn’t need to be told twice, he walks through the door Seungcheol is holding, walking through the long hallway. Seungcheol stops at the keypad on the wall, pushing a few buttons before everything goes black and he hears multiple clicks. 

“Let’s go, hold hands.” Seungcheol is in the front leading the way, Haewon in the middle with Jeonghan at the rear. It shocks him that the little girl actually takes his hand. 

Seungcheol is sweating as he walks them through the storage room and out to the back of the building. They step outside and the sun is high in the sky.  They stop at a black Tahoe and Seungcheol unlocks the doors and Jeonghan stands there not knowing what to do next. 

“Get in the fucking car, Jeonghan!” 

Seungcheol doesn’t say anything as he drives them away from the bar. He’s constantly looking over his shoulder as he drives through the city. They’ve been driving for about a hour and a half before Jeonghan turns around to see Haewon sleeping in the back seat, head leaning against the seatbelt. 

“Okay, what is going on?” Seungcheol jumps at the sound of his voice, forgetting he was in the car. 

“Someone is watching me.” He says, checking on Haewon before looking behind him on the road to make sure no one is following him. 

“Someone has been staking out her school, the bar and my house. I can’t let  _ anything _ happen to her, I can’t.” Jeonghan doesn’t say anything because he can already see the older man is in distress. 

Jeonghan sighs and just leans back into the seat, watching the cars as they pass them. Jeonghan falls asleep because there is nothing else to do. 

Seungcheol didn’t even realize Jeonghan was in the car until he spoke up. His mind was only thinking about one thing and one thing only. He needed to get to his house as quickly as possible. He had no idea who was watching him but if they were watching the bar that means they saw Jeonghan walk in and he knows all they need is one person to make everything go wrong. He looks behind him one last time before pulling off the road, turning down the street that turns into a dirt road. Seungcheol hasn’t been down this road in four years but the open field on both sides still look the same. The other three won’t be here for another thirty minutes so he takes his time driving down the long road. He looks in the back at Haewon before looking at Jeonghan who’s sleeping in the passenger seat. He leans against the door sighing because he really doesn’t know how this is going to play out. He turns left into the drive into the driveway, pulling up to the front door. 

The sun is still high in the sky as Seungcheol gets out of the car, closing the door lightly behind him. He does a quick walk around the house before entering his house. All windows and sliding doors still seemed to be locked. His key still gets stuck in the front door and it makes him laugh because he never did change the lock. He stands in the front entrance and sighs because it feels good to be back here. Seungcheol wishes it was under different circumstances but you don’t always get what you want. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary so he goes back out to the car. Haewon and Jeonghan are still sleeping as he gets back in the car to wait for the others to arrive. 

Jeonghan wakes up at the sound of another vehicle approaching. He looks out the window to see they’re sounding by nothing but the road that leads out and a field. To his right is a one story house, brown bricks covering the outside. He looks to see if Seungcheol is in the driver seat and he is. Checking his phone before looking at Jeonghan. 

“I will explain everything, I swear, just stay with her until I come back.” 

“Okay.” They both unbuckle their seat belts only Seungcheol gets out of the car. Jeonghan watches as they bring in multiple bags into the house. It’s a mix of grocery bags and luggages and Jeonghan doesn’t know what to think. He turns in his just in time to see the little girl wake up. 

“Where’s my dad?” She asks, unbuckling her seat belt so she can properly lay down. 

“Um, he’s inside. You can go back to sleep and I’ll wake you up when he gets back.” She nods and Jeonghan watches as she goes back to sleep. He sighs and pulls out his phone, only to find it dead. He didn’t charge it last night so it was only a matter of time before it gave out. It takes about fifteen minutes for Seungcheol to come back out. He opens Jeonghan’s door before opening the back door to get Haewon. She’s not as light as she used to be but he’d rather she sleep through this whole thing anyway. 

“Come on.” Seungcheol says quietly and Jeonghan follows him, walking into the house. 

Jeonghan feels like he’s walking into his childhood home. The first thing he notices is how open the living room is and behind it is the sun room and he feels like he's at home. The walls are filled with pictures of the five of them, artwork of the little girl in between every couple of photos. 

“Why is Jeonghan here?” The sound of his name pulls him out of his thoughts and looks at the other three who are all staring directly at him. 

“You know my name?” Jeonghan asks because he definitely doesn’t know them. 

Seungcheol sits on the couch and pinches the bridge of his nose. “He stopped by the bar to update me on the case. He was with me when you called and if they were watching the bar, that means they saw him walk in. I just panicked and brought him along, I didn’t really stop to think about anything else, Vernon.” 

He sounds angry and Jeonghan is not going to get in the middle of it so he leans against the fireplace, watching them talk. 

“We only have two cars, how is he getting back?” 

“Mingyu, I don’t fucking know!” He says, through his teeth. Haewon wakes up, as she’s in Seungcheol’s lap. 

“Hey, sweetie. Want to go up to your old room and unpack for me?” She really doesn’t say anything just getting up, grabbing one of the walkie talkies that lays on the table. Jeonghan assumes she must know the drill already and he watches as she leaves the living room, walking up the stairs. Jeonghan has so many questions but he doesn’t feel comfortable asking anything right now. 

“Did you drive your car or a cop car when you came by the bar?” Jeonghan is the only cop in the room so he knows the question is directed at him. 

“I drove my own car.” They all collectively sigh at that and Jeonghan raises an eyebrow. 

“They definitely already know who he is by now.” The tall one says. 

“Can we all stop talking in code and just tell me what the hell is going on?” He’s irritated at this point and they’re all dancing around the situation. 

“Mingyu, Vernon, Wonwoo.” Seungcheol says, pointing at the three men on the other side of the couch. 

“Do you absolutely need to get back to your job any time soon?” Mingyu asks. 

Jeonghan shakes his head because he really doesn’t. “I’m on vacation for two weeks.” 

“Great, because you're staying with us for the next two weeks.” 


	2. Chapter 2

The first two days are hell. The whole house is quiet because everyone is afraid to make noise. Seungcheol looks out the window about one hundred times a day and nobody is allowed in the sun room. The doors to the room were shut and all blinds and curtains were pulled tight. Jeonghan didn’t mind it, he liked it being quiet. It reminds him of coming home to an empty home after a long shift. Seungcheol looks like he’s on the verge of crying at the sound of anything loud and everyone lets him be, scared of what might happen if they address the situation. He’s either in his room or in the kitchen cooking and even then it’s hard to watch. Jeonghan was situated in the basement because they only had enough room for the five of them and Jeonghan was fine with that. He didn’t want to share a room with any of them and he knows they didn’t want to share with him either. He’s sitting on the couch, legs crossed, when he hears people coming down the stairs. He already knows who it is because they always travel together and it’s kind of annoying. The three of them come to sit at the other end of the couch, staring at him. Jeonghan groans and pauses his show. 

“Why couldn’t just one of you come to bother me, why are you guys always together?” he asks, looking at them. 

“You have to stop him.” Mingyu tells him.

“Stop who?” 

“Seungcheol. He’s cleaning.” Wonwoo, says leaning back.

“Again? What else is there to clean?” Yesterday, Jeonghan had come up for dinner and he went to go wash his hands in the guest bathroom and the smell of cleaning products burned his nose hairs clean off, he’s sure of it. 

“He’s re-cleaning.” Vernon tells him, leaning back on the couch.

“Please go calm him down.” 

“Why me? I’m trying to enjoy my vacation.” He replies, waving his hand at the tv.

“You know why?” Mingyu says, smiling a little. 

Jeonghan narrows his eyes at the man. “I don’t like how you guys seem to know way too much about me and I only know your names.” 

Nobody says anything after that and Jeonghan looks at the tv, looks at the stairs before looking back at the men sitting on the couch. If he goes upstairs, it could end up going many different ways. He really doesn’t want to but the other three were desperate enough to come to him so he figures he should at least see what he can do. 

“Where is he?” He asks 

“Cleaning his bathroom.” Jeonghan gets up, walking upstairs, taking a right, walking down the hallway. The older man’s bedroom door is open so he walks in and he knows he’s been cleaning for far too long by the smell of bleach. He walks in the bathroom to find Seungcheol scrubbing the bathtub. He looks around and finds everything neat and shining. 

“Why are you scrubbing like you’re trying to get rid of evidence?”

Seungcheol jumps, dropping the sponge. “Why the fuck would you scare me like that?” 

“How have you not passed out yet?” The older man turns on the water, washing out the tub and Jeonghan lets him. He leans against the counter, waiting for him to get finished. He plays with the drawstring of his sweatpants as Seungcheol turns off the water, standing up, walking past him. Jeonghan stops him before he can clean another surface. 

“Hey, that’s enough.” He grabs the sponge and the bottle out of his hands, placing them on the counter. 

“I didn’t clean the sink yet.”

“Yes, you did. Come on we’re going somewhere!” Seungcheol lets himself be dragged out of the bathroom until they stop at his closet. 

“Get in.” Jeonghan says, opening the door to his dark closet. 

“Are you being serious? I was almost done cleaning, I only have Hae- I mean I only have one room left.” Jeonghan ignores the fact that he still won’t tell him his daughter’s name. 

“Get in the fucking closet.” Seungcheol rolls his eyes but still walks in because the quicker he gets this over with the quicker he can get back to cleaning. Jeonghan walks in behind him, closing the door so they’re in the dark. 

“Okay, now lay down and try to relax.” Seungcheol wants to punch him but he doesn’t know exactly where he is. He makes a move to head for the door because this is stupid and Jeonghan practically tackles him to the floor. He tries to escape but Jeonghan is straddling him, pinning his hands above his head before he even gets the chance to move away. 

“Just relax, you’re going to send yourself into a breakdown at the rate you’re going. Your entourage is literally afraid of you at the moment and not to mention you have a daughter, who you need to take care of.” Jeonghan tells him. 

Seungcheol scoffs, “I’m perfectly fine. I can handle myself and my kid.”

“You’ve stood by the window, looking out at it for an hour the other day knowing damn well no one was coming. You’re not fine.” 

Seungcheol moves his wrist trying to get out of his grip, “So what? If someone was watching you, you would probably be the same way.” 

Jeonghan removes his hands and the moment he does, he’s on his back. 

“I can’t let anyone take her away from me, I won’t allow it to happen.” Seungcheol says from above him. 

Jeonghan doesn’t say anything and he hears him sniffle. “Are you crying?” It doesn’t take much effort to knock the man off his lap, moving until he’s sitting beside him. 

He’s never seen Seungcheol cry before and it kind of reminds him that he may not be the same person he was when they first met. Jeonghan doesn’t say anything else and just lets the man cry. He doesn’t know how much time has passed, he left his phone in the basement. Seungcheol clears his throat. 

“Sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize, you’ve been holding that in for three days.” Neither of them move to exit the closet so Jeonghan continues talking. 

“When I lived in Virginia, I would literally just come home from training and sit in my closet. Nine times of ten I would cry because I was so tired but sitting in the closet made me feel a little bit better.” Jeonghan shares. 

“Virginia? I thought it was New York or Texas?” Seungcheol moves back until he hits the wall, Jeonghan following him. 

Jeonghan laughs, “Bet you also believed I was in Europe.” 

“You had the whole town fooled.” Seungcheol mumbles. 

“That was the plan.” 

“How’d you know I was in here?” 

“I told you your entourage was afraid of you. Did you tell them about me?” 

“Mingyu knows more than he should.” Jeonghan figures he would be the one to know everything. 

“He’s your favorite?” Jeonghan questions.

Seungcheol sniffs, “Something like that.”

“Are you going to go back to cleaning the whole house again?” Jeonghan asks, standing up. 

“No, I’m going to go to bed.” Jeonghan opens the closet door, light flooding in. 

“Sleep well.” Jeonghan walks out of the room, walking back down in the basement. The other three are still in the same spot he left them in. They’re watching his show, One Day at a Time, and Jeonghan scoffs making himself known.

“Thanks for waiting for me.”

“How’d it go?” Vernon asks, eyes still on the tv. 

“He’s sleeping.” 

“You fucked him that good?” Mingyu, says before he can stop himself. 

Jeonghan laughs out loud, doubling over, almost landing on the floor. The three men look at each other before looking back at the man. 

“You would not be in this house if I got my hands on him again. He’s sleeping because the fumes got to him.” Jeonghan says, sitting back down in seat. 

Haewon comes down at that moment, piece of paper in her hand, as she comes to sit next to Jeonghan. 

“Can you check this?” She places the paper in his lap.

“Of course I can.” 

“I thought I was your go to person for homework?” Wonwoo questions. 

“I like the way Jeonghan teaches more. No hard feelings.” Wonwoo makes a noise in his throat, seemingly offended that she’s trading him for a man she barely even knows. 

“It looks all good to me. We’ll do more tomorrow and we’ll work on spelling too.” 

Haewon hops off the couch, “Okay, I’m going to watch Youtube.” They watch as she leaves to go back upstairs, paper in her hand. Seungcheol had told her school that she had pneumonia so she wouldn’t be in school for a while. He doesn’t know how a sickly girl would be able to do her homework but they sure sent it over anyways. She had come to him on her own and he wasn’t going to turn her down. 

Seungcheol sleeps until the next day, a whole twenty four hours. His head feels a lot clearer and when he turns around in bed and sees Haewon, laying in bed next to him, reading a book. 

“Finally, you’re awake! We already had breakfast. Uncle Mingyu made it for us. We played hide and seek. They still haven’t found me.” She tells him, closing her book. 

“That’s nice, sweetie. What book are you reading?” He asks, stretching before leaning up against the headboard. 

“Madeline. Jeonghan bought it for me!” He raises an eyebrow at that. 

“After I brush my teeth we’re going to go downstairs, stay right here.” He jumps out of bed, heading towards the bathroom. It still smells clean which eases his spirits knowing his cleaning didn’t go to waste. 

He goes to the bathroom and brushes his teeth making sure he doesn’t mess up all his hard work. He makes a note to self to just wipe it down later on the day with some wipes. He’s not a clean freak at all but it helps take his mind off of things. He walks back in his room after placing his toothbrush in its holder. 

“Come on, let’s go find the heathens!” He says, holding his hand out for her to take. 

They leave his room, walking towards the living room finding it empty. They walk back until they get to the stairs that lead to the basement, carefully walking down the stairs. The four of them are all sitting on the couch, Jeonghan sitting closest to the stairs, while the other three sit on the other end. 

“Look who it is!” Vernon half yells. 

“Wow, you’re alive!” Wonwoo says, pausing the show. 

“Yes, yes. Hello, nice to see you all! We need to have a meeting.” He lets go of Haewon’s hand and he watches as she sits next to Jeonghan. He’s going to have to talk to her about that. 

“Who left the house?” 

“It was Jeonghan’s idea.” Mingyu mumbles. 

“You said you needed more food, and I said to get one thing and suddenly it’s my idea and you’re throwing me under the bus that fast? I thought we were finally starting to get along!” 

“He got me a book!” Haewon adds. 

“It’s only been like four days, no way we’re friends all of a sudden.” 

“I said not to leave the house! That was the only rule I had.” The authority in Seungcheol’s voice stops their bickering.

“I know we’re far from town but anything can happen and I said I didn’t want to risk it. And for a fucking book of all things.” Haewon’s grip tightens on her book just in case she tries to take it from her. 

“It was for food too.” Mingyu says quietly. 

“You three upstairs, you too.” He says, pointing at the girl.

“But I want-” 

“Now Haewon!” The four of them scurry up the stairs, leaving just him and Jeonghan in the basement. 

“Am I also going to get yelled at? I don’t do well with yelling.” Jeonghan says after a moment of silence. 

“Why did you let him leave? As the oldest, I thought you would at least help enforce the only rule I had.”

Jeonghan stands ups, walking until he’s in front of the other man. “He literally left at the ass crack of dawn. I’m positive no one saw him, I even looked out the window for an hour like you did to make sure of it. Also you should really invest in a pair of binoculars, you can see further with them.” 

“There’s six of us in this house and we practically eat a good five times a day, we would’ve had to go out eventually. He was the only one who left, nothing happened.” Seungcheol sighs and looks Jeonghan up and down. 

“Should’ve at least sent him to get yourself some clothes instead of a book.” 

“You have enough clothes for the both of us, let’s save some money, yeah?” 

“It’s just weird seeing you in my clothes again.” 

“Baby, I used to lick come from your ass and put it in your mouth, sharing clothes is something you can get over.” Jeonghan walks upstairs because he’s fucking hungry and all he had to eat was pancakes. 

Seungcheol stands there looking at the spot where Jeonghan was just standing. He looks down at the front of his pants because he would actually punch himself if he got hard from a simple sentence from the other man. 

  
  


Saturday rolls around and Jeonghan is over it. He misses his apartment badly and sleeping on the couch is not something he wants to keep doing. The sun room is still off limits, and Jeonghan barely knows the time of day. He’s in the basement watching tv by himself like he’s been doing since they first got here. He figures it’s best if he stays in the basement because whenever he does go upstairs all conversations stop. He doesn’t like being treated like an outsider but he can get over it. He’s clicking through the channels on the tv when his phone dings. He picks it up from its place beside him to look at the notification. It’s from his security system and it shows that someone had definitely entered his apartment. 

Seungcheol comes downstairs at that moment. He sits close enough but still some distance between them. 

“Someone broke into my apartment, just now.” He says, still flipping through channels.

Seungcheol gasps, “What the fuck? Why are you so calm about it?”

Jeonghan shrugs, “I’m not there and there’s nothing in there. I never bring work home so the only important documents they would find is probably my birth certificate and I doubt they want that.” He finally settles on watching Chicago P.D., it’s an old episode but something is better than nothing. 

“I’ll tell Vernon and Wonwoo to check it out!” He says, getting up to back upstairs. Jeonghan sighs, pulling his arm until he’s sitting back down on the couch. 

“Leave it.” 

“Are you sure?” Seungcheol sounds conflicted. Jeonghan goes to respond when the lights cut out and they both freeze. This is Seungcheol’s worst nightmare. He grabs Jeonghan, pulling him up from the couch, moving towards the wall. His hand glides along it until he comes in contact with the tv stand. He lets go of Jeonghan, to pull it forward, light coming through. Jeonghan walks in with no hesitation, Seungcheol right behind him closing it back until there’s a soft clicking sound. 

“Let me guess you have these in every room?” 

“You bet your ass I do.” He pulls out his phone to text Vernon because he’s the one who’s with Haewon. 

“The door is always in the closet, if you run your hand along the wall you’ll feel the difference.” Seungcheol tells him as he walks back and forth. 

“Where is everyone?” 

“Vernon was with Haewon organizing her clothes. Mingyu was on the phone with someone and Wonwoo was in his room.” 

“Haewon. That’s a pretty name.” 

“Thank you.” He mumbles. 

“How long do we stay in here?” Jeonghan has to pee. He knew he shouldn't have drank all that water. 

“Mingyu or Wonwoo will text me.” Jeonghan slides his back down the wall and sits on the floor. 

“This is exactly why I said not to go outside. I’m going to have to move again.” 

“Why are they watching you though? Or I should ask why they just started watching you, if everyone knew you ran a bar.” 

“I don’t know. Killing Dahyun must’ve triggered something in someone for them to come after me.” 

“But you didn’t kill him.”

“I also didn’t let him buy my bar. A lot of people want my bar.” 

“Why?” Jeonghan questions.

“Are you asking as just Jeonghan or Jeonghan the detective?” 

“I’m asking as Jeonghan.”

“I meant it when I said my bar was in the middle of town, divides it directly down the middle. Since I am a Choi it’s technically a neutral zone. The Kim’s have the one side and the Hwang’s have the other side. Nobody wanted the bar until I had it. I came back after four years and it was just empty so I bought it.” 

“Dahyun wanted to use my bar as a front but I told him I was out of the game and he could do his meetings there but that was it.” 

“Did you live here after you left?” 

“Not at first. I was on the other side of the state until Wonwoo had tracked me down. I moved again but he found me within a month and then I moved here with them. None of my other men found me but I just assumed they went to either side they thought would be best for them.”

“Why didn’t you just leave the country?” Seungcheol never really thought of actually leaving the state, knowing it wouldn’t do him any good. Hiding in plain sight was his only option. Fake credit cards and ids had helped get everything he had wanted until he was sure nobody was trying to kill him every time he stepped outside of his house. 

“They would’ve been out to get me even if I moved to Australia, I’m sure of it. They waited to kill my father and they waited to kill my mom and my siblings. They’re waiting to kill me too.” 

“You have siblings? I literally know nothing about you.” Seungcheol would agree he knows nothing about him but he would be lying. He knows way too much about the other man. He would just listen to Jeongan talk some nights and Jeonghan wouldn’t even realize he would be telling stories about his childhood. He never stopped him because it was refreshing to hear how the other grew up. A normal childhood. 

Seungcheol laughs, “That was the whole point. We did more fucking than talking in our relationship. A brother and a sister, I was the middle child. I made them move to Georgia.”

Seungcheol feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and he’s thanking the big man upstairs because he’s already told the man way too much. 

“We can go back now.” He says, standing up walking towards the door. He does the code, pushing it back open to see the lights in the basement are back on. They head upstairs and Jeonghan grabs his phone from where it fell on the floor when Seungcheol had pulled him up. They walk upstairs to see everyone standing around the kitchen island. 

“Hey dad, I think my panic room is a little too old for me.” Haewon says when she spots him. 

“Next house we get you can do whatever you want to it, okay?” He tells her as he hugs her tight, kissing the top of her head. 

“Someone definitely cut the power out, I’m assuming they didn’t do it from the actual fuse box outside. Probably hacked the company to turn them off from a distance.” 

“I don’t think there’s any point in hiding if they know where we are.” Vernon chimes in and Seungcheol sighs. 

“Come on Haewon, we’re going to go design your new room.” 

The four of them are left in the kitchen and Mingyu is speaking first. 

“Seungcheol was with you in the basement?” He questions and Jeonghan can tell from the look in his eyes this isn’t going to go well.

“Yeah, he had just come downstairs and I told him someone broke into my apartment and then the lights cut off.” 

Mingyu ignores whatever he says, “You guys totally fucked, that’s hot.” Vernon leaves without another word and Jeonghan thinks back to what Seungcheol said about Mingyu knowing more than he should. 

“You know curiosity killed the cat right? Why do you want to know so bad? Want to know what it’s like? Bet you get hard from Seungcheol’s stories. You wish it was you instead?” Jeonghan crosses his arms, looking directly as Mingyu. 

“I just-“

“Shut up. I don’t even know who you are and you’re asking about a sex life that hasn’t been active in years. You’re an idiot.” 

He walks past him, making sure to bump his shoulder on the way out. 

“Keep your pathetic excuse of a boyfriend away from me or you won’t get him back.” He says to Wonwoo. 

Jeonghan walks to Seungcheol’s room at the end of the hall. He’s so tired and for once he wants to sleep in a bed. He knocks on the door, opening it when he hears a small “come in”.

“Can I sleep in here for like two hours?” Haewon and Seungcheol are sitting in bed, tv on but they’re not watching it, as they scroll on the man’s laptop. 

Seungcheol looks at Jeonghan as he stands in the doorway, before nodding his head. He knows sleeping on the couch can be tough and it hasn’t exactly been updated in a few years. He hops onto the other side of the bed, getting under the covers. 

“Jeonghan, what color should my room be?” Haewon asks, as he gets settled. 

“What’s your favorite color?” He asks, turning his head so he’s looking at the both of them and the laptop. 

“Yellow.” 

“Go with blue. Add some sunflowers and it’ll be really pretty.” Jeonghan closes his eyes as he lays down on the pillow. This bed is softer than the one he has in his own apartment. 

“Baby, why don’t you finish planning with Wonwoo?” It’s a few seconds later and a soft click of the door. 

“You’re angry, why?” Seungcheol whispers.

Jeonghan rolls onto his back, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling. 

“Mingyu said something and it just irritated me.” 

“He asked if we had sex, didn't he?” Seungcheol laughs quietly. 

“We literally could’ve died and he wants to know who was getting dicked down? That man doesn’t have his priorities straight. I told Wonwoo to keep his boyfriend away, I don’t like him at all.” 

“Angel, they’re not dating.” Seungcheol responds seriously. 

“Could’ve fucking fooled me. I told him the other day if we were fucking they wouldn’t be in the house.” Jeonghan says, turning his head to face the man.

“ And why is that?”

“You’re loud, baby. Or you used to be. Also pretty sure Mingyu would get off to us and I don’t like that thought.” 

Seungcheol only hums in response. To Jeonghan that usually means the conversation is over so he sighs again, closing his eyes. He hears the covers rustling and then he feels a body next to him. 

“You’re not gonna let me nap in peace?” He mumbles out. 

“This is my bed, I’ll kick you out!”

“Speaking of kicking people out, I think I’m going back to my apartment. Vernon was right there’s no need to hide if they know where we are.” 

“That’s understandable.” That's the last thing Jeonghan hears before he’s out cold. He truthfully hasn’t been sleeping well and he’s pretty sure he’s going to have to see a chiropractor when he gets back home. 

Seungcheol stares at the man in his bed before getting up to find everyone else. He finds them all in the living room, watching 50 First Dates. He walks behind the couch stopping behind Mingyu’s head before slapping it. 

“Ow! What the fu-heck!” Seungcheol looks at Haewon and she plugs her ears.

“Mind your own fucking business. I told you not everyone is as easy going as us. If he punches you next time, I’m not stopping him.” 

Haewon unplugs her ears as Seungcheol sits on the couch and she gets up to sit next to him. Nothing else is said for the rest of the day and dinner is silent unless Haewon is speaking about the book Jeonghan had bought her. 

  
  
  
  


The next three days are spent packing, in which Jeonghan watches them all pack. He does the laundry instead to help out because none of his stuff is here except for the clothes he wore when he first got here. He doesn’t find himself in the basement anymore. If he’s not with Haewon he’s in Seungcheol’s room. 

Neither of them had commented on it, it just slowly turned into a routine. He would nap there and then when dinner was over they would walk down the hallway together in silence and go to bed. Sometimes Haewon would sleep in between them but he quickly found out she was a wild sleeper and it resulted in him carrying her to her room, when he woke up to her foot in his mouth.  Jeonghan helped her pack up her room, throwing out anything she couldn’t fit. Most of it had to be thrown out since she couldn’t fit anything from when she was younger. Jeonghan has never done so much laundry in his life. Washing clothes for five people is something he never wants to do again. He hadn’t spoken to Wonwoo or Mingyu since Saturday, only dropping off their laundry in their rooms before walking back out. Vernon wasn’t one for making conversation but they spoke whenever it was just the two of them.  He figures he won’t be seeing much of them after he leaves because he has no reason to. The only thing that's keeping them connected was the case and it had already been solved. He’ll miss Haewon and Seungcheol's soft bed but that’s about it. He sighs at the thought of having to clean his apartment because he just knows they left it a mess. 

He had gotten a call from the station that they went to check it out and Jeonghan had just told them to close the door and he would deal with it when he got back from vacation. It wasn’t like Jeonghan lived in a bad part of town but he couldn’t exactly tell them his apartment had been broken into by the mafia. Jeonghan didn’t want to come back to work with any more paperwork than he had to.  On Wednesday, they had woken up before the sun had risen to leave the house to make it back in town while it was still dark. The three musketeers left after them or Jeonghan assumed they had done so. Seungcheol had dropped him off at his apartment but not before giving him his keys to his car. He had a plan to make it seem like Vernon was stealing it so if they were still being watched, they wouldn’t know who stole it. Jeonghan had just told him to take to a junkyard because he could just buy another one. That was almost a month ago. Jeonghan had spent the rest of his vacation cleaning and car shopping. Nothing eventful had happened at work, the average drunk being taken in or some people shoplifting from the mall but nothing else had happened. Jeonghan had sat at his desk waiting for lunch to come around so he could get away from his desk for a while. 

  
  


Seungcheol had been waiting for Haewon to get home from school. He was glad her school was only down the street. Two of her friends had lived along the way so he knew she would be okay. He had always told her if she had thought something was going to happen to just go over her friend's house and to call him to let him know. He was taking a head of lettuce out of it’s bag when the front door opened. 

“Dad?” 

“I’m in the kitchen, sweetie!” He places the lettuce on the cutting board, before walking over to get a knife. 

“I already did my homework! We’re also going on a field trip next month but can I ask you something?” She says all at once. 

“Ask away.” he mumbles thinking of how to cut the lettuce open so he can make his salad. 

“I’m turning nine at the end of the year and I never ask for anything and I always listen to you and my uncle Vernon, Wonwoo and Mingyu. I really just want this one present.” 

“What is it?” He questions, finally just slicing it down the middle, putting one half back in the bag for later. 

“Can I have a phone?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Please?!? Everyone at school already has one and I feel left out because they always get to text each other after school and make plans and I never get invited to anything because I don’t have a phone.” She whines. 

“Haewon, I don’t care how other people raise their kids. I’m your father and you’re my daughter. I’m the one raising you and I said no. I said no last year too so why would you ask me again? You’re not getting one and that’s the end of it.” He tells her, slicing up the lettuce, putting it into a bowl. 

“You’re not even my real father.” She mumbles out. 

Seungcheol finally looks up at her to see her staring at him, sitting at the dining table. All he can see is his sister, giving him attitude. 

“You’re not too old for a whooping.” He warns. 

“Get out of my sight, Choi Haewon.” 

“Whatever you say, Choi Seungcheol.”

He puts his knife down to watch her grab her back before he hears her running up the stairs. He sighs loudly, before going back to cutting the stupid lettuce. Three chops in before he’s angrily sticking the knife into the rest of the lettuce, picking up the cutting board to throw the whole thing in the garbage. 

  
  


Jeonghan didn’t get to go out for lunch until after two because he had wanted to get most of it done so he could go home early. He had gotten a new car last week, so he could stop walking around everywhere. His boots were not made for walking but he guesses the exercise was good for his knees. When he gets back to the station one of the officers stops him before he walks past the main desk. 

“Some kid is sitting at your desk. She wouldn’t tell us her name but she said she was looking for you.” Officer Wu tells him. 

“Thanks, I’ll take care of it.” He damn near jogs to his desk because he has a feeling he already knows who it is.

“Haewon?” He asks as he stops in front of his desk. She looks up from whatever paper she was writing on. 

“You took forever! When are we going home?” 

“Honey, what are you doing here? Where’s your dad?” He drags a chair over so he doesn’t have to talk too loud. 

“He’s at home. He’s mad at me, I know he is! Please don’t make me go back! Let me stay with you, I promise I’ll behave!” His eyes go wide as she starts crying. 

“Woah woah, slow down. Deep breaths and tell me what happened.” He says, wiping her tears. 

She nods her head, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I asked for a phone for my birthday because everyone else had one and he said no so I said he wasn’t my dad and then…” 

“What happened?” He asks softly as he tries not to let the shock show on his face.

“I called him by his real name!” She wails out. Jeonghan looks at her for a second before he pulls her into his chest to muffle her sobs because everyone is starting to look now. He waits until she calms down to talk to her again. 

“Honey, you can’t stay with me. I have a job and you still have to go to school.” He grabs her some tissues so she can wipe her face and blow her nose. 

“So I have to live outside?” She starts crying again. 

“No baby, you have to go home. I promise he’s not going to be mad at you. Come on, he’s probably worried sick about you, it's almost four.” He stands from his chair, grabbing her backpack that’s stuffed full and he tries not to laugh at her attempt at running away. He picks her up from out of his chair, even though he’s way too big to be in his arms. He walks back out to his car because he knows Seungcheol probably already had three panic attacks. He sets her down as they reach his car and he opens the back door for her to get in, placing the bag on the floor. He closes the door, jogging over to the driver’s side. He gets in, sticking the key in the ignition. 

“It’s not like I lied.” She says, from the backseat. Jeonghan turns around to look at her. 

“What do you mean?” He is genuinely confused at what she’s telling him. 

“I didn’t lie. About the father part.” Jeonghan thinks he shouldn’t be hearing this from an eight year old. 

“You want to go get some ice cream?” He asks instead. 

It’s a good thing Haewon actually knows where she lives. Or more like she knows where her school is and knows her house is down the street from it. He sighs as he parks in front of the house, eating the last of his ice cream cone. He gets out, stepping on the sidewalk to let Haewon out. 

“How do we get inside?” He asks because he knows Seungcheol isn’t one to just leave his front door open and he doubts the little girl has a key. 

“We have a back door.” She leads the way and Jeonghan looks around to make sure no one is outside because he doesn’t want the cops called on him. He follows her through the grass to the side of the house until they come to the back door. He twists the knob and it actually opens so he lets her in first before closing the door behind him, making sure to lock it. 

“Okay, I’m going to go talk to him and I’ll send him your way.” 

“Are you sure he’s not going to be mad at me?” 

“I’m sure. Now, hand me daddy’s ice cream.” She hands it to him before walking into the main part of the house. After they leave the hallways they come into the kitchen and dining room area. He watches as she runs up the stairs. He goes through the kitchen drawer. He finds the spoons in the third one and looks at the bowl of lettuce sitting on the counter. It’s already turning colors so he throws it out. 

He makes his way upstairs and he realizes he doesn’t know where the man’s room is. He takes his chances, going left from the staircase. He stands in front of the closed door. He knocks softly and he waits for a minute. He doesn’t hear anything from the other side, so he opens the door. Looking in the room he can tell it’s Seungcheol’s by the messy bed. He stands in the middle of the room, wondering where he could be. He places the ice cream on the nightstand when he hears soft snoring. He whips around just to make sure he isn’t hearing things. He checks the bathroom only to find it empty.  Jeonghan stands in the middle of the room again, waiting to hear it again. He doesn’t. He walks back in the bathroom, only to hear it again. He stands in front of one of the doors that he assumes is his closet He walks toward it before opening it quietly. He laughs when he sees Seungcheol, laying on the floor on his stomach. He steps into the big closet, kneeling down next to the man. 

“Cheollie?” He shakes his shoulder softly. 

The man doesn’t wake up and Jeonghan figures there’s only one way to do this. He moves his hand down his back until it’s at the edge of his shirt. He puts his hand underneath the older man’s shirt, nails raking down his back. He watches as the man’s eyes flutter open. 

“Where is she?” He asks and Jeonghan’s hand falls out of his shirt as he sits up on his knees. 

“She’s in her room. I promised her I would talk to you first.” He says standing up, walking out of the closet and back into the main bedroom. He leans against the man’s dresser, watching as the man climbs onto his bed to sit in the middle of it, staring at Jeonghan. 

“That ice cream is for you.” Jeonghan says, nodding his head towards the nightstand. 

“She attempted to run away. I came back from lunch to find her at my desk and she told me what happened. I told her she couldn’t stay with me because she had to go to school and I had a job. She thought she was going to have to live outside.” Seungcheol laughs weakly at that. 

“I’m guessing she told you about how I’m not really her father too.” 

Jeonghan sighs, “She tried to but I stopped her. That’s when we went to go get ice cream.” 

Seungcheol eats another scoop before placing it in between his legs. “I know she didn’t mean it. But her calling me by my full name sent me over the edge.” 

Jeonghan waits for the man to continue. “She’s my niece. My younger sister was eight months pregnant when she died. Haewon is the reason I left everything, I had to take care of her because she was the only thing left in my family besides me. I looked at her and it was almost like I was arguing with my sister and I couldn’t handle it.” 

“I wanted her to know where she came from but I was going to wait until she was older to tell her but when she was like five she came home with this stupid family tree project. She had asked if all four of us were her father. She didn’t really understand that I was her only uncle and when she wrote dad on the paper, I wasn’t going to tell her she was wrong

She asked about her mom a year later and I had to tell her the same thing. She was fine with calling me dad because she didn’t want to get made fun of at school so I just let her do it. Little kids can be mean and it’s bad enough she doesn’t have a mom. She’s never used that against me and the day she does it’s over a stupid fucking cell phone.” He scoffs, eating the last of his ice cream before it melts any further. Jeonghan moved to sit on the edge of the man’s bed by the middle of his story. 

“I think she’s more mad at herself for saying it to you. She quite literally wailed in the station when she told me about it.” 

“I’m not mad at her. I just don’t want anything happening to her and I definitely can’t tell her that the reason why she can’t have a phone is because her uncle slash dad used to be a mafia leader and someone is out to get him. She probably already thinks I’m over protective because we use walkie talkies and baby monitors so I can keep track of everything that goes on in this house. I can barely explain why we need to use panic rooms.” 

“Hey, you did a great job at raising her. You literally left a life behind to start a new one. She’ll understand when she gets older and you can actually explain it to her. Now, how many panic attacks did you have? You sound really wheezy.” 

“Just one. No one was answering their phone and I don’t have your number. She wasn’t at her friend's house so I figured I would wait for her to come back but after a hour went by I kinda just lost it.” 

“Where’s the trio?” He asks, noticing he hasn’t seen them in the house. 

“They’re at the bar, cleaning up.” He places the empty ice cream tub back on the nightstand, making sure it doesn’t fall over due to the spoon's weight. 

Jeonghan hums, digging inside his suit jacket for a pen and his card. Seungcheol watches as he writes something on the back of it before handing it to him. 

“What’s this?” He asks, taking it. 

“My work and cell number. You said you didn’t have it.” 

“How do you know I want it?” Seungcheol asks.

“Then give it back.” Jeonghan replies seriously as he holds his hand out because that was a perfectly good card he could’ve kept for someone else. 

“You got so serious so fast, that was kinda sexy.” He tells the man leaning back against pillows. 

“So you’re keeping it?”

Seungcheol nods his head, “I might need you for something.” 

Jeonghan stares at the man in bed before moving closer to him. He doesn’t stop until he’s hovering over the other man, grabbing his hips pulling him back against his thighs until he’s laying flat on his back. 

“Personal or work related?” Jeonghan whispers.

“Both. Maybe more personal.” Seungcheol’s hands move to his belt before he starts pulling his shirt out of his pants. If Jeonghan is reading this right, he’s definitely about to fuck this man until he’s crying. Jeonghan leans in but a voice stops him. 

“Jeonghan? What is taking so long? You said he wasn’t mad!” Seungcheol gasps at the sound of the little girl's voice and he can hear her getting closer. He pushes the other man off the bed with his legs and Jeonghan has to move his head before it meets the night stand. He lands on the floor and he groans. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Seungcheol giggles. 

Jeonghan looks up at him before looking in the doorway to see Haewon standing there with his arms crossed. 

“Is he mad or not?” 

“He’s not. He even ate the ice cream we bought.” Jeonghan wheezes out, as he sits up. 

It takes Haewon about five seconds to realize Seungcheol is in the room and Jeonghan can see the tears well up in her eyes. 

“Oh baby, don’t cry. I promise I’m not mad.” Seungcheol says, getting out of the bed, careful not to step on Jeonghan. He kneels down once he gets to her to make sure their eye level. 

“I called you by your real name though and I said a mean thing.” 

“I know you didn’t mean it. You were just upset and I know you won’t do it again, right?” 

“Never!” 

“Now, let’s go make dinner.”

“Is Jeonghan staying?” She asks. They both turn to the man who’s still sitting on the floor, watching them. 

“I actually have to get back to work, but next time honey.” Jeonghan gets up, dusting off his pants. 

“Come on, we can walk Jeonghan to his car.” Haewon slowly walks out the room and down the stairs. They follow behind her as she heads towards the back door because that’s the way they came in. It’s silent as they walk outside and Haewon is still pouting. Jeonghan turns around to face her once he reaches his car. 

“Don’t be so sad, we’ll see each other again. Your dad has my number so you can call me anytime, okay?” He tells her. 

“Okay, I’ll call you!” He looks over from over his car and then looks at Seungcheol who just shrugs his shoulders. 

“Make sure you do your homework first.” He closes his car door, staring it up. 

They both wave as they watch him drive away. 

“I already did my homework so can I call him now?” She questions as they still stand on the sidewalk. Seungcheol rolls his eyes pushing her towards the house. 

“I’m not telling you his number now.”

“I’ll run away again.” She threatens. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think this is the fastest i ever updated any of my fics....this will not happen again lmfaooo jk who knows! 
> 
> anyways if there are mistakes i'll find em this weekend bc i am editing all my fics bc these typos be hiding in plain sight and i want to punch myself. especially when the typos are during a sex scene i be cracking up but i'm also like how tf did i miss that?? yes, i'm looking at you not that mad, come to me & baby do better!!!!!!
> 
> y'all watching svt's concert?? I will be (hopefully)! and thank goodness I got a job more money to give to svt :D 
> 
> catch ya on da flip side lads [@stxrburstIouis](https://twitter.com/stxrburstIouis)

**Author's Note:**

> hello, i am back again! thanks to oomf for this prompt, i hope i do it justice! 
> 
> i don't really have any set plans for this fic, i'm just going with the flow at the moment. also don't ask why i chose the setting to be in nebraska, something about mafia fics just makes me wanna put them in the middle of the country. you know the vibe where like everyone knows but they turn the other cheek, that's what i'm going for. 
> 
> just a heads up i don't really know about how the law works in nebraska i barely know how it works in my own state so if it's wrong just let it be wrong, i googled a lot but i don't need my fbi agent getting suspicious of me lmfaoo. and i don't think i need to say it but i will anyways but if you couldn't tell from that one scene they are both doms but we can talk about that later :) also i think this is the first time i have ever posted in the middle of the day instead of at the ass crack of dawn so go me! 
> 
> hope you enjoyed this chapter! i did make a twt for this so i can rant and cry i peace so follow me there for updates if you want   
> [@stxrburstIouis](https://twitter.com/stxrburstIouis)
> 
> As Time Goes By - Yoon Mirae (amazing song, i am a whore for good slow songs we all know this) 
> 
> peace out lads :D


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